Chapter Summaries

Obito suspected that someone had leaked his identity as Uchiha Madara to Konoha, while Kou feared Obito might suspect him and prepared to strike. Obito named Uchiha Itachi as the likely culprit, leaving Kou stunned.

• Obito told Kou that Kakashi had not recognized him but had shown unusual hostility, suggesting Kakashi already knew about Uchiha Madara.
• Obito concluded that someone had leaked his information to Konoha, and Kou worried that Obito might suspect him.
• Kou considered attacking Obito with Magatsuhi God and prepared to strike before Obito could use Kamui.
• Obito revealed that he suspected Uchiha Itachi had leaked the information, and Kou reacted with confusion.

Obito suspected Uchiha Itachi of leaking information about him and tasked Kou with testing Itachi during a mission to hunt Orochimaru. After returning to his hidden cave, Kou asked Karin whether she wanted to leave and live with him in the outside world.

• Obito reasoned that Uchiha Itachi was the likeliest source of the leaked information, though he admitted he lacked proof.
• Obito asked Kou to join Itachi and Scorpion's mission to hunt Orochimaru and probe Itachi's reactions, while Obito searched for new Akatsuki members.
• Kou agreed to approach Itachi, and Obito left to arrange Kou's addition to the mission through Nagato.
• Kou returned to the hidden lava cave near Mist Village and reunited with Karin.
• Kou asked Karin whether she wanted to leave the cave and live with him in the outside world.

Karin told Kou she was happy in their lava cave and would follow him anywhere, and Kou promised to remain by her side as her master and family. After Karin went to sleep, Kou entered his secret chamber and returned to his research on the Mangekyō Sharingan technique "Eternal World."

• Karin told Kou that their life together made her happy and that wherever he was would be home to her.
• Kou promised Karin that he would stay by her side in the future, and she accepted his reassurance with a smile.
• Kou and Karin cooked dinner together, after which he taught her sealing theory and medical ninjutsu chakra control before staying with her until she fell asleep.
• Kou tucked Karin beneath her blanket, then went to the secret chamber and examined his extensive research on "Eternal World."

Kou used his Mangekyō Sharingan to control Orochimaru, making him record his knowledge and answer questions about Danzō. Kou learned that Danzō fled Konoha with Root members on the night of the Uchiha massacre, leaving him stunned.

• Kou reviewed Orochimaru's written research on souls, spiritual power, and the Sharingan, then considered how useful Orochimaru could be for his plans.
• Kou used his Mangekyō Sharingan to command Orochimaru to answer his questions in detail.
• Kou asked whether Orochimaru had recently been in contact with Shimura Danzō.
• Orochimaru said Danzō contacted him three days after the Uchiha clan massacre and had already been gravely wounded.
• Orochimaru revealed that Danzō had fled Konoha with more than a dozen elite Root members on the night of the massacre, shocking Kou.

Kou learned from Orochimaru that Danzo had been driven from Konoha after Hiruzen blamed him for the Uchiha massacre, and that Obito had secretly taken all the Uchiha bodies. After Orochimaru revealed Danzo’s later alliance plans and his knowledge of a person close to Kou, Kou demanded Danzo’s whereabouts and learned he was hiding in the Land of Rice Fields.

• Orochimaru told Kou that Danzo had sought Sharingan from him before the Uchiha massacre and was later nearly killed by Hiruzen after the Hashirama Cells in his arm rebelled.
• Orochimaru explained that Danzo found every Uchiha corpse missing, was blamed by Hiruzen, and escaped using Izanagi with help from Root members.
• Kou concluded that Obito had taken the Uchiha bodies and wondered what purpose they served.
• Orochimaru revealed that Danzo had exchanged Root members and a plan to trap Itachi for help stabilizing his injuries, then proposed an alliance against Konoha.
• Orochimaru mentioned Danzo’s intelligence about a suspected Uzumaki remnant beside Kou, prompting Kou to seize him and demand Danzo’s location.
• Orochimaru told Kou that Danzo was hiding in the Land of Rice Fields.

Shimura Danzō oversaw a brutal selection at Root’s temporary branch in the Land of Rice Fields, where thirty children were chosen as future recruits. As he considered how depleted his forces had become, he recalled that the Uchiha corpses—and the Sharingan he had planned to seize—had vanished.

• Root shinobi guarded the hidden base while children fought to survive a deadly selection in its underground arena.
• Bing reported to Shimura Danzō that thirty candidates had been selected from five hundred children for future Root training.
• Shimura Danzō recognized that his remaining Root members were too few for him to discard even aging, injured subordinates like Bing.
• Shimura Danzō reflected on his diminished forces and the failure of his plan to collect the Uchiha’s Sharingan.
• Shimura Danzō recalled that all the Uchiha clan members’ corpses had vanished just as he was preparing to retrieve them.

Danzo investigated the disappearance of the Uchiha corpses and suspected Uchiha Kou was involved. Orochimaru arrived at Danzo’s base, where Danzo recognized him as a puppet controlled by an Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan wielder.

• Danzo recalled surviving Itachi’s Amaterasu and wondered whether Uchiha Kou had made the Uchiha corpses disappear.
• A Root ninja reported that Orochimaru had arrived, and Orochimaru appeared from the shadows before Danzo could send for him.
• Danzo ordered the Root shinobi to surround Orochimaru, who accused Danzo of mistreating his benefactor.
• Danzo told Orochimaru he was only a controlled puppet and addressed the hidden Mangekyō Sharingan wielder as a Uchiha remnant.

Danzo exposed signs that Orochimaru was being controlled by a Mangekyō Sharingan and identified Kou as the one behind it. Kou emerged from the shadows, and Danzo revealed his surprise that Kou had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Danzo explained how the Mangekyō Sharingan worked and described subtle signs that someone was under its control.
• Danzo confronted Orochimaru, saying that his decades of knowing him had helped him recognize the abnormalities, and demanded to know who he was.
• Kou applauded from the shadows and emerged, mocking Danzo for noticing the clues.
• The Root ninjas shifted their attention toward Kou, but Danzo ordered them to keep Orochimaru surrounded because they could not handle Kou.
• Danzo recognized Kou and said he was surprised that Kou had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, since he had always hidden behind a mask.

Eight years earlier, Danzo confronted Hiruzen over appointing Uchiha Kou to the Jonin Corps, arguing that Kou was a manipulative danger who could rise to power. Hiruzen defended giving Kou a chance to serve in the village, but ended the argument by asking whether it mattered if Danzo’s suspicions were true or false.

• Danzo angrily challenged Hiruzen for allowing Uchiha Kou to enter the Jonin Corps.
• Hiruzen said Kou needed time away from battlefield missions and could adjust through clerical work in the village.
• Danzo accused Hiruzen of grooming Kou to succeed as head of the Jonin Corps and support Hiruzen’s disciple as Hokage.
• Hiruzen rebuked Danzo for overstepping and urged him to recognize the younger Uchiha’s efforts to integrate into Konoha.
• Danzo insisted Kou hid his cold nature behind a harmless mask and asked whether Hiruzen could truly approve of him.
• Hiruzen remained silent, then asked whether it mattered if Danzo’s suspicions were true or false.

Danzo recalled his old conflict with Hiruzen and recognized that Hiruzen had been right about Kou’s deep bonds, but resolved to eliminate Kou as a threat to Konoha. Kou confronted Danzo at Root’s temporary base, revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan, and began forming Susanoo.

• Hiruzen told Danzo that Kou had developed sincere bonds and would become an outstanding Hokage, but Danzo rejected his judgment and left in anger.
• Eight years later at Root’s temporary base in the Land of Rice Fields, Danzo remembered Hiruzen’s words and resolved to kill Kou for Konoha’s sake.
• Kou admitted that Danzo had seen through his mask and said that gave him another reason to kill Danzo.
• Danzo began removing the bandages covering his body as Kou revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan and declared that he would make Danzo experience despair.
• Kou manifested an azure skeletal Susanoo, and Danzo recognized the technique.

Kou confronted Danzo beneath Susanoo as Danzo unleashed the Hashirama Cells implanted in his body, despite knowing they would soon kill him. Danzo attacked Kou and blocked Susanoo’s counterstrike with Wood Release, leaving their battle underway.

• Kou summoned Susanoo, whose power rapidly drained his ocular strength and caused his eyes to bleed.
• Danzo removed his bandages and revealed a body transformed by Shin’s transplanted tissue and Hashirama Cells.
• Kou explained that Danzo’s borrowed power was unstable and predicted he would die within an hour, but Danzo declared he would erase Kou to protect Konoha.
• Danzo rushed Susanoo and stabbed at its frame with a kunai, which snapped without leaving a mark.
• Kou sent Susanoo’s skeletal hand at Danzo, who used Wood Release—Tree World Wall to block it.

Danzo’s Wind Release attacks failed against Kou’s Susanoo, which absorbed them through Inari God. Kou transformed the Susanoo into its second form and hurled its massive bladed wheel at Danzo.

• Danzo shattered the wooden barrier with a Vacuum Great Sphere and leapt backward to escape the Susanoo’s grasp.
• Danzo fired a barrage of Vacuum Serial Waves at Kou, expecting the attacks to crack the Susanoo’s defenses.
• Kou absorbed the Wind Release attacks with his right-eye technique, Inari God, and replenished his chakra.
• Kou evolved the Susanoo into its second form and formed a massive bladed wheel in its left hand.
• Kou hurled the wheel at Danzo and called it Futsu—Heavenly Wheel of the Void.

Danzo unleashed Deep Forest Emergence to stop Kou’s Susanoo blade wheel, but the wheel cut through his defenses and left him mortally wounded. Kou dismissed Susanoo and stood over Danzo’s mangled upper body.

• Danzo used Deep Forest Emergence to bind the blade wheel, exhausting his chakra and allowing the Hashirama Cells to consume his body faster.
• Kou commanded the blade wheel to spin, and it severed the trees and broke free.
• Danzo ordered the Root ninja to protect him, but Orochimaru and the blade wheel killed them all.
• Danzo unleashed Deep Forest Emergence again and then mutated his body to attack the wheel, but both efforts failed.
• The wheel sliced Danzo in half and returned to Susanoo’s hand; Kou checked his Mangekyō Sharingan, dismissed Susanoo, and appeared beside the dying Danzo.

Kou revealed the Futsu Sky Wheel’s ability to adapt and grow without limit, then blamed Danzo for the suffering and tragedies he had caused before crushing his head. As Danzo activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, Kou used his Mangekyō technique, Magatsuhi God, and cracks spread across Danzo and the surrounding space.

• Danzo asked how Kou had cut through Deep Forest Emergence, and Kou explained the Futsu Sky Wheel’s regenerative and adaptive abilities.
• Kou stomped Danzo’s head and accused him of causing years of suffering, the deaths of Minato and Kushina, and the Uchiha clan’s destruction.
• Danzo activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing as a final attempt to seal Kou and everything else in the underground base.
• Kou admitted he could not escape the sealing range but revealed he could break the technique, then aimed his left Mangekyō at Danzo.
• Kou invoked Magatsuhi God, and black blood froze as cracks spread across Danzo’s body and the space around him.

Kou killed Danzo by collapsing the space around him, absorbed the Hashirama Cells’ chakra, and vowed to seek justice for the Uchiha clan. He then freed the surviving children from the slaughter and watched as they finally broke down in tears.

• Kou used Inari God to drain the Hashirama Cells’ chakra from Danzo, then shattered Danzo and part of the underground base with Space Collapse.
• As he died, Danzo remembered Hiruzen and spoke his name before vanishing in the collapse.
• Kou vowed to eliminate everyone involved in the Uchiha clan’s extermination, even the boy who had become a masked figure in a Black Cloak with Red Clouds.
• Kou felt the cost of using his Mangekyō Sharingan and considered pursuing his archaeological plan in the Land of Lightning to gain more ocular power.
• Kou reassured the six surviving children that they were safe and no longer had to kill one another, and they dropped their weapons and wept.

Kou prepared to erase the surviving children’s memories of the night, but one boy refused because he could not bear to forget the family who sacrificed themselves for him. The boy instead swore loyalty to Kou, leaving Kou surprised by his offer.

• Kou told the surviving children he would erase their memories of the night before letting them go.
• One boy refused, explaining that his parents and brother had died so he could survive and that he would not forget them.
• Kou warned the boy that refusing could cost him his life, while the other children accepted the memory erasure.
• The boy picked up a kunai, then drove it into the ground and declared that he would swear loyalty to Kou.

Kou questioned Fuma Naoto after the boy asked to follow him, and learned that Naoto’s family descended from the Fuma Clan but had never become ninja. Naoto insisted he wanted to follow Kou for himself, while rejecting the idea of restoring a clan that had chosen banditry over peace.

• Fuma Naoto asked to follow Kou, saying Kou was a good person because he had tried to erase their memories instead of killing them.
• Kou suspected Naoto knew too much to be an ordinary civilian and asked about his identity.
• Fuma Naoto revealed that he came from a branch of the Fuma Clan whose members had left the clan and settled near the Land of Rice Fields border.
• Naoto explained that his grandfather had been a Fuma Clan chunin who fought in the Second Ninja World War, but Naoto and his family were not ninja.
• Kou guessed that Naoto wanted to become a ninja and restore the Fuma Clan, but Naoto denied it and said he did not think the clan was worth restoring.

After the children begged him for a place to belong, Kou agreed to take them in, though he warned they would have to prove their worth. He sent them with Shadow Clones to a new place to recover and train, leaving him alone with Orochimaru and another clone in the ruins.

• Kou warned the children that being a ninja meant living with constant danger and suggested they leave that life behind.
• Fuma Naoto pleaded with Kou to take the children in because they had lost their families and had nowhere else to feel safe.
• Kou decided the children could become useful subordinates and agreed to let them stay if they proved their worth.
• Kou warned the children that anyone unable to endure the path could have their memories erased and leave.
• Orochimaru and Kou created Shadow Clones to escort the children to a new place, where they would recover before training.
• Naoto was the last to leave and looked back at Kou with gratitude and trust before disappearing into the night.

Kou ordered Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone to mislead Akatsuki’s intelligence network while planning to investigate two suspected Indra reincarnation tombs and seek clues to the Totsuka Blade. Meanwhile, Itachi learned that Danzo had defected, worried about the consequences for Konoha and Sasuke, and received a communication from Pain.

• Kou sent Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone to the Land of Lightning to stage minor incidents that would attract Akatsuki’s attention.
• Kou considered investigating two Uchiha tombs and focused on the Warring States elder whose Susanoo had wielded the Totsuka Blade.
• Kou decided that working alongside Itachi might reveal information about the Totsuka Blade, but rejected the idea of killing Itachi because the risks of exposing his strength were too great.
• Orochimaru cleared the battlefield of the remaining corpses and left the ruins beneath the moonlight.
• Itachi read a letter reporting that Danzo had defected, worried about Konoha’s changing power structure and Sasuke, and resolved to find a chance to return to Konoha.
• Itachi received a chakra signal from his Vermilion ring and recognized the communication as coming from Pain.

Pain ordered Itachi to travel to the Land of Lightning and join Scorpion and Kou in hunting Orochimaru, whose partnership with Danzo might reveal what had happened to the former Konoha ninja. Itachi accepted the mission but remained wary of Kou, resolving to learn his motives and kill him if he proved a threat to Konoha or Sasuke.

• Pain told Itachi that Orochimaru had been sighted near the Cloud Thunder Mountain Range and ordered him to join Scorpion in eliminating the traitor.
• Itachi reconsidered his earlier assumptions about Danzo and decided Orochimaru might know what had happened to him and where he was.
• Pain informed Itachi that Kou would join the mission, and Itachi questioned whether Kou knew they would be working together.
• Itachi agreed to rendezvous with Kou and Scorpion in the Land of Lightning, suspecting Kou had a personal reason for accepting the mission.
• Itachi resolved to uncover Kou's motives and learn whether he possessed Shisui's other Sharingan, while vowing to kill Kou if he threatened Konoha or Sasuke.